


The Little Pest

by hilaryfaye



Series: Wasp Nest [2]
Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-21
Updated: 2013-01-21
Packaged: 2017-11-26 09:32:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/649145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hilaryfaye/pseuds/hilaryfaye
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A fairy is missing, and Tooth will find out where she is one way or another... even if the answer surprises her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Little Pest

Jack was covering a large swath of the Pacific Northwest in frost when Toothiana collided with him in a panic. Jack smacked backwards into the side of a barn, startled, and looked up at the panicking fairy. “Tooth? What are you doing here?”

“One of my fairies is missing!” she said, “Have you seen her? She’s been away for two days!”

“How do you even keep track of them all?” Jack asked, climbing to his feet and dusting himself off. “There must be thousands of them.”

“Millions,” Tooth corrected, “But one of them’s gone Jack and I don’t know where she is!”

“Maybe she got lost?” Jack suggested. He wasn’t really sure what Tooth was worried about--it seemed to him that it was probably just a fairy playing hooky. “She’ll make her way back home sooner or later.”

“None of my fairies have ever done this before,” Tooth said anxiously, “The others have no idea where she went.”

“You’re really worried about her, huh?”

Tooth nodded, biting her lip.

“I’ll help you look for her,” Jack said, jumping into the breeze. “Can’t be that hard. Where was the last place she was supposed to be?”

“Burgess.”

 

Pitch strolled through the dark street, sulking. He was little more than a bad feeling these days, sending people who were out late scurrying home to turn on the lights and lock their doors. Still, it was better than brooding below ground, being completely useless.

He sidestepped before a young couple walked through him, and growled at their backs. One girl picked her head up, suddenly anxious. “Let’s get home,” she said to her girlfriend. “I don’t like it out here.”

Pitch frowned and continued on his walk. It was a cloudy night, so MiM wouldn’t be able to watch him--which was exactly how Pitch wanted it.

It was one thing to be defeated--it was another to let MiM see him skulking about in the shadows, unseen, unheard, and unnoticed.

But then, Pitch wasn’t entirely alone.

Wasp poked her head out from his hair, chattering like a squirrel. She disliked the cold, and resented that their emergence from Pitch’s cavern had confined her to his hair. “I didn’t ask you to come along,” he said, glowering up at her. “Do you think I like having you crawling around up there? I keep imagining there’s a mouse on my head--except a mouse would be quieter.”

Wasp stuck her tongue out at him, and disappeared again among his hair. Pitch rolled his eyes and turned down a sidestreet. It sounded like there were a few teenagers who were in need of a good unsettling.

“Pitch!”

The boogeyman paused, and turned with his hands steepled before him. “Hello Jack,” he said in a low voice. “Come to send me back below?”

“One of Tooth’s fairies is missing.” Frost held his staff warily. “You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”

In his hair, Wasp went absolutely still. Pitch gave no sign of any emotion on his face. “What use do you think I would have for one of Toothiana’s fairies? I assure you, I would not invite trouble for myself at the moment.” He glanced over his shoulder at the teenagers coming down the sidewalk, being far too loud. “Now, if you don’t mind, I have a job to do--”

Jack cut in front of Pitch. Pitch bared his teeth in a silent snarl. “You’re even more troublesome than before. Get out of the way.”

“No. You know where she is, don’t you?”

Oh, this was a nuisance. Wasp grabbed hold of a clump of his hair, making a quiet threat that she’d rip it out if he revealed her.

Unfortunately for the little fairy, Pitch wasn’t much impressed by that. He reached up and caught her in his fingers, and the little fairy chattered angrily, hitting, kicking, and biting at his hand with all her might. Pitch grimaced and shook her out in midair. She made a small kicking motion at him and turned to look at Jack, who was staring at her in astonishment.

“Do I even want to ask why she was in your hair?”

“The little pest dislikes the cold,” Pitch said, folding his arms over his chest.

Jack looked even more at a loss than before. Wasp blew a raspberry in his face and flitted back up to Pitch’s shoulder, folding her arms over her little chest and sulking. “I am so confused,” Jack said, lowering his staff.

“She turned up a few days ago, and wouldn’t go away.” Pitch glanced at the fairy, who was still sulking on his shoulder.

“Huh.” Jack cocked his head to the side. “Tooth won’t like to hear about this.”

Wasp looked up at Toothiana’s mention and burrowed into the collar of Pitch’s robe, hissing angrily at Jack.

“Quite the feisty little creature,” Pitch commented idly. The teenagers had passed them now, and Pitch was growing steadily more annoyed that he’d missed a chance. “Feel free to tell Toothiana that I tried to get rid of the little beast, but she wouldn’t leave.” Before Jack could stop him, Pitch stepped into a shadow and vanished.

 

“She’s _where?”_ Tooth half-shrieked.

“It looks like she wants to be there,” Jack said. “She was hiding in his hair.”

“What?!” Tooth looked scandalized at the thought. “But--my fairy--”

“I’m not so sure she wants to come back, Tooth.” Jack sat down, watching Tooth’s face. She looked distraught, like a mother who’s child has run away.

“Why would one of my fairies... go back there?” Tooth asked, slowly dropping to sit. “I don’t understand it. He kidnapped them, Jack. Why would one go back?”

Jack shrugged. “I don’t know.”

Tooth put her chin in her hand, thinking. Jack put a hand on her shoulder, sitting with her for a while more, before he left. Winter was calling, and he couldn’t wait forever. They both had work to do.

 

Tooth watched them from a distance, keeping just out of sight. The little jewel-colored fairy that Pitch called Wasp was zipping through the air, outright taunting a small Nightmare. Pitch lounged high in a tree, chuckling as Wasp raced and chased the Nightmare. He seemed... almost fond of her. Tooth had a hard time imaging Pitch being fond of anyone.

Wasp flitted to Pitch burrowing under his sleeve. The Nightmare looked confused, and began searching for the tiny fairy. The little fairy emerged at Pitch’s collar, nuzzling against his jaw. Pitch laughed softly and caught her in his hand, tossing her back in the air. Tooth almost gasped in indignation, but it looked like Wasp was entertained by it, and used the extra velocity to strafe the startled Nightmare.

They were _playing._ Tooth watched in amazement. Pitch Black was playing with one of her fairies like a kid, and quite enjoying himself. It was hard to see in him the same person who had kidnapped her fairies and tried to destroy the Guardians.

Wasp came round the corner to hide, and nearly hit Tooth in the face. She backpedaled a few inches, doing a midair skid, and stared at Tooth. She looked surprised and a little frightened, as if she expected to be punished.

Tooth extended a hand, and Wasp landed their, head bowed, perhaps expecting to be yelled at and taken home.

Tooth sighed, and kissed her head. “Go on,” she murmured.

Wasp looked up, surprised. Tooth nodded, smiling sadly. Wasp cried out in delight, flying up to kiss Tooth’s cheek, and then out back to rejoin the game. Tooth stayed to watch, feeling a little lonesome.

She didn’t really understand it. None of her fairies had ever left her before, and she didn’t care for the feeling... but watching Wasp nuzzle against Pitch’s cheek, and watching how delicately he handled her--even if he was throwing her through the air--Tooth couldn’t bring herself to take Wasp back.

Tooth thought that Pitch had been put in his place, for what he’d tried to do. There was no need to take away what appeared to be his only friend.

“Alright, Wasp,” he said, standing and snatching her out of the air as she went to fly past him. “Time to be getting back.”

Wasp flew from his fingers to nest in Pitch’s hair, just as Jack said she had, laying her head down to sleep on Pitch’s forehead. He laughed quietly again, and slid down the tree. The Nightmare followed like a loyal pet, as they went further into the dark forest.

 

Nestled in the Nightmare King’s hair, Wasp looked up at the sky. Tooth hovered just over the trees, and raised her arm in a wave. Wasp sat up a bit, returning the wave with a smile. Tooth nodded, and disappeared into the night. She had work to do.

The little fairy settled back down, sighing softly. She yawned, and closed her eyes with a little smile, dozing as Pitch walked through the forest. She’d never been so happy.


End file.
